


A Miscalculation

by LunarLilac



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, One Shot, Shooting Guns, Toppat Recruits Ending | TR (Henry Stickmin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:08:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28475172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarLilac/pseuds/LunarLilac
Summary: So...what exactly happened to Charles right after Henry chose the Toppats in the TR ending?
Comments: 13
Kudos: 38





	A Miscalculation

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've been thinking about the Toppat Recruits ending again recently...and this idea came to mind. So, uh, hope you all enjoy this.

"Henry? Come on, help me take down the Toppats!"

Henry and the red-haired girl beside him barely glanced his way before waving frantically at the Toppat leaders, who gladly threw them some weapons. 

Charles felt his heart speed up - he'd miscalculated. Henry wasn't going to help him. He was on his own.

And he hadn't been watching Right Hand Man.

The Toppat started shooting at him. 

The world seemed to slow. For a moment, all Charles heard was gunfire. Glass shattered on his left side. A small blast rocked the chopper back and forth, the rotor mast had been badly damaged. His shoulder stung. His dashboard lit up with multiple warning and error messages. 

He had to land. Now.

"Uh oh...I gotta fall back."

He sounded much calmer than he felt. 

Charles wrenched the controls back and away, trying to put distance between himself and the launching rocket without crashing into the nearby mountains. The last thing he needed right now was to accidentally crash this chopper - he just prayed that the rotor blades didn't give out entirely and send him into freefall.

The rocket was launching now - forget about stopping them, Charles had his hands full just keeping the broken helicopter steady in the sudden turbulence. He grappled with the controls and tuned out all distractions, eyes darting around everywhere for a safe place to land. 

There. A small field at the end of the railroad. Still a lot closer to the rocket than he would like, but it would have to do. 

Charles bit his lip and maneuvered the chopper over the grass as he heard the rotors slowing down and giving out overhead. This wasn't going to be pretty.

The chopper didn't land so much as hit the ground, bouncing roughly before coming to a stop, the rotor blades spinning once more before falling off the top altogether and crashing to the ground. Inside, Charles shivered. If those had fallen off midair…

He sucked in a breath. He was okay. A little dizzy, his heart was racing, his shoulder stung, but he was still okay.

Well, that could have gone better.

"Charlie! Come in, Charlie. What happened up there? What's your location?"

Right. Right, he had to call this in. His hand trembled as he brought it to his head and fumbled for the button on his headset. 

"I-I had to make an emergency landing. My chopper was shot at by some kind of handgun. Tore up the rotor mast. Now, I'm, uh, near the railroad tracks." He was pretty sure, anyways. His head was spinning. "The Toppats…"

"Forget about them. Are you okay, Charlie? Do you see any smoke? Any fire?"

He looked around the little space and shook his head, wincing at the movement. "Yeah, I, um - no, I don't think the engine got hit, just the rotors. I'm, um, pretty sure it won't explode. Should I, should I try to get back to base now?" He could really use a nap. 'Course it'd be a long walk from here...it'd be better if his chopper was up and running.

"Back to base...listen, Charlie. I think you might be going into shock. Rupert's not far - if you're sure it's safe, I want you to wait there, alright? Just wait for Rupert to get there."

"Okay, general." He started feeling for his harness straps anyways. He already made one bad call today - he really didn't want to make another one. 

Once he got the straps off, he jerkily stood up, hunching over to avoid hitting his head and made his way over to the chopper's door. He yanked it open after a couple tries and immediately squinted in the sunlight, bringing a hand up to shield his face. He stumbled out of his copter and nearly fell over, barely catching himself on the side of the helicopter.

What was it the general said, again? Oh, right...wait for Rupert. He slid to the ground next to the chopper. Yeah, he could do that.

Charles stared up at the clouds. The Toppats were up there, now. Going to space. 

Henry, too. Maybe, maybe Toppat Henry now? Toppat Henry and...and red-haired girl. Whoever she was. He wondered what they'd look like in hats.

He laughed weakly, grimacing at the pain that spread through his shoulder. He'd wanted to trust Henry. 

God, he really was an idiot, wasn't he?

"Charles? Charles!" Oh, good, Rupert was almost here. They could go back to base soon. Get some sleep. "Oh my god - oi, we need a medic over here!" Rupert ran up to him and yanked off his own jacket. The soldier wasted no time bunching up the fabric and pressing it into the pilot's left shoulder, making Charles wince and hiss. "When did you get shot?"

Oh. That's why his shoulder hurt. The Toppat had good aim. Shot him right through the window. 

Rupert was still saying something, talking into his radio now, but Charles wasn't really listening anymore. 

The sky seemed darker. Maybe it was smoke from the rocket? Charles wasn't really sure what time it was, but it seemed too early for nighttime. Shame. He liked to go stargazing, sometimes. 

Later, though. He was way too sleepy right now. He felt his eyes drift closed and fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I swear Charles is my favorite character but this idea just would not leave my head. I owe y'all some fluff at some point. *tacks this IOU onto a growing pile of them*
> 
> Anyways, I live - but my computer, unfortunately, does not. Actually wrote a lot of this on my phone, which is mainly why I've been so slow to update.
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed - let me know what you think in the comments. I may end up extending this a bit, if anyone's interested. 
> 
> Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone!


End file.
